Iron Gods

Not certain of their next move, the group returned to the elevator, and studied the socket for the missing connector again. Realising that the wire was too sort too reach, Maddie decided to try bridging the gap with her old thieves tools. Surprisingly, it worked. The message on the wall now read Elevator on line, and the line reading Deck 4: Engineering was now in the same colour as the one that read Deck 3: Science.
With that accomplished, they returned to the surface world to rest for another night. While above ground, they visited the Temple of Brigh again, to see Khonnir Baine. He told them that a cure for his problem may be in the area where they found him.
A plan to find the cure was made, and they ventured back into the caves, after a good nights sleep with a recharged Maddie and Kellen. This time, Juha stayed behind, and Camlo set off with them.Camlo suggested they make their first stop the room with the big golden button, and press it again, but before they could get there, they once again encountered the Skeletal Kasatha. The encounters forced a decision to explore the whole of the desert environment and make sure everything was sorted there, leaving no enemies behind (except maybe the Skeletal Kasatha) A total of seven skeletons were vanquished, before they found the caves that may have once been the home of living Kasatha. shattered untensils and primitive cave wall paintings were evident, and Kellen said some of the drawings reminded of his dreams of ‘Tentacular Rapists’. Another picture was of an oblong shape burning in the sky, that reminded Maddie and Kellen of the legend of the Rain of Stars.Nisha’s explorations led her into an area where one of them was trapped in sand which felt like a gel had been applied. Tentacles whipped up from the sand, attacking her. The group found themselves fighting something famiiar, only this one seemed tougher than the last Ghelarn.
After the Advanced Ghelarn was defeated, they made their way to room with the big golden button. Maddie pressed it, and the table lit up. They walked to the room where they had beaten Hetuath twice before, and once again, there he was, ready to fight. Behind him, they could see the desert environment lit up as if it were day, and they made short work of Hetuath

Nisha sprang in to action, springboarding off a table to attack one of the Boilborn. She landed on it, striking down with her wakizashi. The Boilborn exploded, showering a ten foot radius area, and Nisha, with acid. Maddie hurled a bomb at the other, with Juha throwing a dagger after. It, too, exploded with acid, but no-one was in range.
From there, they moved across the corridor to what appeared to be a dining room. A bench across one wall had glowing red panels on it, and Maddie quickly identified them as a source of heat for food. Ransacking the cabinets, they found 120 tubes labelled as Goo Tubes, with an explanation that they were food. They sampled three of the tubes with no ill-effects.
Back in the elevator, one of the group found a loose panel in the floor, with a sparking wire under it. The wire didn’t connect to anything, but they could see a socket where it may have once connected. They searched the floor for the missing connector, and looked at the wrecked robots still lying around also, but found nothing that matched. (perhaps something could be made to bridge the gap)
Moving further through the dungeon, they entered a room with a water trough running along the walls, and being that seemed to plant matter in the former of short human. It attacked, lashing out at Nisha with a light hammer, and a clawed hand. The hammer thumped in to Nisha but the claw missed. A bomb from Maddie shredded Vrilledts guards, and the Vegepygmy leader surrendered. He offered his treasures to the group if they would help him and his people to a safe area for them to expand their numbers. A discussion of morals followed, with the group split on what they should do. The group leaned to not allowing the Vegepygmy to expand, and when he realised that he was about to be killed, Vrilledt broke free, and attacked again, only to be swiftly cut down. Maddie purified the room with one of her concoctions, and they pressed on to the next door.
Four more Vegepygmy were there, and they made short work of them, before Maddie once again decontaminated the room.
Entering the final room of the level, Nisha found herself attacked by a whip-like tendril that slammed in to her armour. They weaved in an out of the Weedwhip‘s tendrils before Nisha removed the flower from the top of the plant.
Four more doors were revealed, and behind these doors, jackpot. They found 3 masterwork light hammer’s, a masterwork Chainmail suit, a ring of protection +1, and three potions of Cure Light Wounds. Added to the +1 light hammer retrieved from the Vegepygmy leader, it made for a good haul.

first stage – XP: 850 each for those there.. 250 for Troy, for setting up traps, and hiding the drones

Camlo spent her time rearranging the drones under the Foundry floor, while Nisha decided to help out with a net trap, but unfortunately she still hadn’t mastered the net, instead, it mastered her. While this was happening, Maddie related some of the previous last excursion in the hill to Juha, describing ‘Elevators’ as something that wanders across plains with big ivory tusks.
Leaving Camlo to continue with her work, the others set off into hill again. They made swift progress until they reached the desert environment area. Once again, they came under attack from the Skeletal Kasatha, but overcame them swiftly. Moving through into the metal walled tunnel, they checked out the two rooms there, with Maddie wanting to stay in the room with the glowing buttons. In the second room they found that Hetuath, the Juju Zombie Kasatha had also regenerated, and attacked them with his remaining javelin, before engaging them in hand to hand combat.
They moved through to the ‘Elevator’, and beyond where they encountered a room with a couple of beds surrounded by panels with active machinery. In one corner there was another Medical Drone. As Juha and Nisha closed in on it for battle, Juha moved too close to one of the beds, and, and thin red ray of light burned him. Kellen joind the battle, and a claw from the robot caught him, and he felt a needle enter his skin, and something cold spread from the puncture. Soon after that, the drone crashed to the floor, permanently deactivated.
After a brief respite, they decided to follow a blood trail from the room. The corridor ended with a door. On the other side, they found the blood trail had disappeared, as if mopped clean. While they were considering this, a voice spoke to their minds, saying ‘hello’. They engaged in a conversation with the voice, and discovered that it had witnessed a group of ‘beings like you’ had been dragged through the room by another group of beings ‘not like you’, and they had left behind a delicious red food. And could they provide it with more of the delicious red food? The creature revealed itself, and Maddie asked Juha if she could keep it as a pet.Juha answered her , replying ‘would you really want a pet that sees your blood as food?’ Growing impatient, the Cerebric Fungus loosed it’s starshriek, nauseating Maddie and Nisha. The group attacked it, and killed it, though it attempted to drive Nisha insane.
With the Cerebric Fungus defeated, they explored the small windows, and discovered evidence of a world called Kasath. While they debated the existence of other planets, confusing them with other planes, Juha discovered a box under the bench, containing 3 devices which Maddie identified as timeworn Flare Guns. While Maddie explained them, Kellen’s constant companion Dorothy lifted one from the box, and set it off, giving them first hand experience of flares.
Moving into the next room, the blood resumed, and, as they looked two tiny creatures moved toward them.

Camlo returned to the Foundry after talking to Sanvil Trett, and was promptly greeted by cries of outrage from her companions. Unbeknown to them, she had ventured up the Black Hill to sample the Numerian Fluids there, and come back with foul odour.Camlo handed over the half power cell she had recovered from Trett, and began making plans to avenge the group on Trett. Juha‘s interest was tweaked when Camlo insinuated that Trett was Technic League. A discussion between Kellen and Juha on the Technic League followed.Maddie volunteered to sell one of the drones they had recovered from the caves to Trett, and got slapped by Juha ’Who are you, and what have you done with the real Maddie.
The following morning, a knock at the door brought a welcome piece of equipment to Camlo, as the first part of her order (a masterwork dagger) at the Torch Guildhouse arrived. After this they set off for the Temple of Brigh to see how Khonnir Baine was doing. Joram Kyte greeted them on the steps of the temple, and invited them to see Khonnir. Khonnir related what he knew had happened to him (see Khonnir Baine in the wiki) and extended Val Baine’s offer until they found a way to reignite the Torch
From the temple, they decided to pay a visit to Sanvil Trett. Looking on his stall in the market, they found no trace of Maddies missing toys, but Kellen could sense he was hiding something. He did offer to sell them something, and Maddie bought a battery from him, for 150gp (50 over the regular price). While Maddie was haggling with Trett, Kellen‘s ever present friend Dorothy slipped a second battery in to his pocket. Deciding to do some shopping in town, and get some more gear, they set off to the Torch Guildhouse.Camlo tagged along, trying to stay thirty feet away from the group, so as not to inflict her odour on them. At one point she got too close, and a particularly strong gust of the smell wafted into the nostrils of Kellen, causing him to vomit, over the back of the person in front of him. An enraged Juha stalked off uncomfortably, after venting his feelings ’I’m going to wash this off, buy a new shirt, and Camlo – Piss Off!!’Juha decided to spend the next couple of nights at the Copper Coin, and put an order in at the Torch Guildhouse. He sifted through some information at the Tavern, discovering that someone had seen Trett concealing what appeared to be a Technic League symbol.Nisha decided to try her luck at the Silverdisk Hall again, only to lose everything, but spotting that the croupier was switching dice on her. She challenged him on it, only to find herself escorted out of the place.
While all this was happening, Maddie and Kellen decided thay would sample the fluids up at the site of the torch. Maddie found herself nauseated for a time, while Kellen produced the same odour as Camlo, while also feeling nauseous.Camlo had returned to the Foundry, and explored Khonnir Baine‘s workshop, studying the floor. She raised one of the flagstones, and dug out a pit beneath it to conceal the two drones they had brought back from the caves.
As dark fell, Nisha returned to their base, and Camlo attempted to get her attention while remaining outside the range of her odour. The two heard someone puking in the shadows, and Camlo quickly swooped on the incapacitated ropefist. Theunfortunate thug, was dragged off to the torch site, and forcefed Numerian Fluid, as an experiment by Camlo
Meanwhile, Nisha was accosted by a second ropefist, who thumped her in the side head, then grabbed the front of her clothing, and warned her ’Don’t make accusations without proof!’

Entering what appeared to be an elaborate reception area, they found dried blood on the floor by the north wall, while patches of rust-red mold grow on the south wall. A desk to the east had a glowing window that showed images of creatures,one or two familiar, most unfamiliar. A door in the east wall led to a short corridor, and another door.
Through that door, they found a circular chamber, and a flashing panel with glowing writing in Androffan. Fortunately, Maddie was able to read the writing, to reveal the following
Deck 4: Engineering
Deck 3: Science
Deck 2: Crew
Deck 1: DockingWARNING: Elevator off-line—please contact
maintenance!
Some time was spent trying to decipher the meaning of these words, but eventually they moved on, to enter a room containing 4 beds, and a metal device the size of a bed. Muffled screams were coming from the device, and they investigated. Nisha pushed the wrong button, and received a jolt of electricity. Maddie deciphered which button to push, and the object opened, revealing Khonnir Baine, the man they were looking for.
As Khonnir Baine was helped to his feet, Nisha‘s paranoia got the better of her, and she thought he was attacking her. Dragging out her polymer net, Nisha attempted to entrap Baine, but only succeeded in entangling her self. Camlo walked over to her, and started to eave rope around and through the net, while having a quiet word to Nisha about why they were here. Meanwhile, Kellen and Maddie tried talking to Baine.
As they struggled to make sense of what he was saying, the eastern door opened, and two new robotic forms entered. One of them (a Collector Robot) hovered rather than walked. The Collector Robot struck out at Nisha, grabbing her arm and starting to squeeze. The other (a Medical Drone) attacked Maddie, a needle in its hand stabbing her and injecting something. Feeling sluggish, but annoyed, Maddie quickly mixed up something in two vials, and sniffed both. She grew a little taller, and moved a bit quicker and seemed more agile.
With Kellens support from behind them they soon finished off the robots
Realising that Baine couldn’t help himself much and deciding he was under a feeblemind spell, they devised a stretcher from one of the beds, and loaded Baine and the two robots on to it. Travelling back through the caves, they realised their regular route through the stalagmite tunnel would not be practical, and were forced to follow the river round, only to encounter a trio of hungry young slime molds.
After defeating the molds, they got back to their rope, and Juha went out to bring in Joram Kyte so they could bring Baine out. Kyte took Baine back to the Temple of Brigh to attempt healing, while sending a runner to the council.Dolga Freddert soon turned up with their reward, and they returned to the Foundry Tavern, only to find someone had broken in, and removed some of Maddie‘s prized Repair Drone parts.Camlo’s suspicious mind sent her in search of Sanvil Trett’s stall in the market place, where she found a poorly hidden piece of the severed power core. After a conversation with Trett where he denied the theft, she warned him that they would be watching him.

The session began with the group continuing their planning to create their own method of traversing the underwater tunnel into the Black Hill. While Nisha, Juha and Kellen took a look at the top of the hill, where the torch used to shine forth, Maddie and Camlo went to the junkyard to find some parts they needed set up a support in the tunnel.
At the junkyard, they were attacked by a Jinkin Gremlin, but made short work of it.
Meanwhile, at the top of the hill, the others found a pool of shimmering fluid, that released all sorts of smells. As Kellen and Juha left, Nisha decided to sample the Numerian Fluid. As she descended the hill, she became increasingly jumpy, and when she caught up with the other two, she realised they were not her friends, and were plotting to do away with her.
When the group were back together, they set off for the entrance, and, with the aid of Joram Kyte‘s waterbreathing spell, set up the rope and pitons that Maddie and Camlo had acquired. Coupled with waterskins filled with air they were successful in setting up their own access to the caves.
Grouped at the first beach, Nisha set her back to the wall to protect herself. Unfortunately, she left herself open to attack from the three Jinkin Gremlins on the ledge above. The rest of the group quickly disposed of the Jinkin Gremlins, and after a brief discussion they decided to revisit the nest, and try the door there. A fruitless attempt to open it saw them return to the Skulk lairNisha’s paranoia hit her again, and she was quickly silenced by the group before something could go wrong.
Back in the desert cavern, they were once a gain attacked by Kasatha skeletons. This time, after defeating them they crushed the skulls.
Eventually they found there way past the room with the holographic table, and entered the next room, where they were attacked by what seemed to be a living Kasatha. A hard fought battle saw them victorious, but badly battered.
A long curving corridor, brought them to dead ends, with the only exit being offset from the point where they entered. The y stepped through the door into…

As the Ghelarn‘s tentacles flopped in it’s death throes, Camlo arrived behind the group, after following their directions. They showed her what they had just fought, before venturing on.
The short tunnel opened into a vast area, that seemed like a desert, but was underground. Footprints led across the desert, and they were able to discern two distinct groups. A short distance along the trail a skeletal form rose up in front of them. Nisha swung to attack the creature, and it’s eye sockets began to glow green. As the skeletal creature fell under the combined attacks of Juha and Nisha, Maddie observed another approaching. Fighting the second, more arrived, and eventually they put down seven of the creatures.
Hurrying along the trail of footprints, they hoped no more would attack. The trail led to another short tunnel, ending in a rock wall that was really a faulty illusion, that showed the door occasionally.
The door opened to reveal a room similar to one on the other side of the desert. Kellen floated the Kasatha skull he had picked up across the room, to the opposite door. With no reaction, her crossed the room to the door and opened it. Nisha, Maddie and Juha followed him into the room, and as he stepped through an electrical blast ripped through the room, catching the three. They scrambled through the room, to Kellen, who began to heal the damage, while Camlo calmly stood there waiting for another discharge. She then counted the time between blasts, and was able to determine that it would be safe to cross for a minute after a discharge.
The passage beyond the room led to another door, which they were able to force open. With the contents revealed, they turned to Maddie to investigate, but she was frozen in place, unable to decide where to start. Shaking it off, she first studied the round table, disturbing the dust, and setting off sneezing fits for herself, Nisha, and Kellen. She then crossed to the purple and black pillar, and pushed the golden glowing button. Camlo called time on their explorations, saying the water breathing spell only had time left for them to leave with a margin of safety. Before leaving, Maddie pushed the button again.
Returning to Torch, they split up and went in search of various things. Kellen and Maddie went in search of writing materials, while Juha sought information on water breathing scrolls at the Temple of Brigh. Camlo went to the Silverdisk Hall to use her certificate, doubling her money in the process.
Shortly after Maddie Kellen]], and Juha returned to the Foundry Tavern, there was a knock at the door. The visitor introduced himself as Sanvil Trett, and asked about any technological items they had found under the Black Hill.He asked about joi ning them on one of their expeditions under the hill, and Maddie indicated to Juha no.[[Juha also felt that he was hiding something from them, but could not work out what it was. Kellen asked him about the skull he had brought back, and Sanvil Trett told him that it resembled the head of a being called a Kasatha. Just before Sanvil Trett arrived, the skull’s eye sockets had glowed green again.Juha then went back out, to seek more information on Sanvil Trett, Garmen Ulrath, and the purple-haired woman that Camlo had told him about. Juha and Nisha visited The Marrymaid, and the Copper Coin While they did that, Kellen visited the Temple of Brigh. Nisha and Kellen both uncovered the same rumour – that Ratfolk bandits were becoming a problem on the road to the east. Juha found that someone had seen Garmen Ulrath meeting with the purple-haired woman.
When Kellen and Nisha discussed the green glowing eyes of the Kasatha skull they began glowing again, and a passing Maddie mentioned that a wizard may be looking through them. Kellen threw the skull to the ground, and shattered it.

After leaving the the body of Parda Garr with Joram Kyte the group returned to the Foundry Tavern for a meal, and a good night’s sleep. They found Val Baine talking with a young blonde woman, bearing the holy symbol of Pharasma. She introduced herself as Camlo Azzatoff, and told the group that Dolga Freddert of the council had sent her to the Foundry Tavern to talk to the group ,and perhaps join them..
While they sat around, enjoying the dinner Val had prepared, and getting to know each other better, Val brought a nervous looking courier in to them.
‘Garmen Ulrath invites you to visit his Illustrious tavern and card room, the Silverdisk Hall’. He told them. The courier them handed them a certifiacte of credit for 100GP each for use in gaming at the Silverdisk Hall. Juha questioned him, trying to get to the bottom of his nervousness, and realised that the young man was scared of something, but couldn’t draw it out of him.Camlo left on an errand of her own, while the rest decided to check out Silverdisk Hall.
At the hall they were greeted by Garmen Ulrath himself, who only spoke to them briefly, running his eyes over Nisha before he left for his office.
Wondering why he barely spoke to them, they settled down to the tables. Maddie sat near Juha, observing the card game he was playing before venturing a hand or two herself. With most of the money lost they decided to regroup near the bar, where Kellen told them he had observed someone being forcibly escorted into one of the back rooms. One of the escorts appeared to have rope around his fists. They attempted to follow, but were informed that the back rooms were private and needed an invitation to enter. As a result of this rebuff, they decided to find another drinking establishment, and see what they could discover about Garmen Ulrath. First they investigated behind Silverdisk Hall, hoping to find a way in. Instead they found two more guards with rope wrapped around their fists.
They stopped at The Marrymaid, the local bordello. Juha approached a woman at the before, but before he could speak she told him, ‘Look luv, it’s 5 gold for oral, and 15 for anal’ When Juha asked how much for information, he was told information is extra. Unable to agrre on a price for just information, Juha bought a drink. Nisha stepped up to the professional, and bought the information using her winnings from Silverdisk Hall. She then disappeared upstairs with the woman, before reporting back to the others.Juha took his drink over to where Kellen sat, saying I think Nisha‘s on to something.
While they were doing this, Maddie slipped off to the Junkyard, purchasing a set of thieves tools, that turned out to be of Masterwork.Nisha returned with the information, telling the men that Garmen Ulrath is believed to be the head of the local thugs known as Ropefists. Also that a number of people owe him money, and he is not above brute force as a means of collecting it.
From there they retired for the night, returning to the Foundry Tavern to find Maddie at the table poking at the severed power core of the Malfunctioning Repair Drone they had fought that day. Juha confiscated half of the core before going to bed.
The following morning, they returned to Joram Kyte for another water breathing spell, and ventured towards the metal wall in the Skulks cavern. Past the second door they discovered another Repair Drone, that appeared to be dormant. They surrounded it, and Maddie began prodding it to see if it would work. It started up, and attacked Maddie and Juha. A net flicked out at Juha while it attempted to slam Maddie. A quick flurry of blows from the group, and a rapier through the CPU ended it. Maddie decided to remove the power core from this one for further study, while Nisha claimed the ploymer net it had tried to entangle Juha with.
Next, they stepped into a larger room with broken cages, and scattered bones against one wall. Kellen sketched one of the skulls he found while Maddie poked around.
The room after that contained two strange looking machines with nozzles protruding from their ’faces’. Feeling cautious, Nisha threw a rock into the room, but nothing happened. Throwing caution to the wind, Kellen stepped into the room. Still nothing from the machines, so the group carried on through the room.
This door led to a rock-walled, sand-floored tunnel that curved to the left from the door. As they advanced along the passage the sand behind them stirred.
Tentacles lashed out, hitting two of the group. Nisha struggled to hit the creature (a Ghelarn, but Maddie’s bombs, and solid attacks from Kellen and Juha killed it. They now prepare to step into a large sandy cavern, with 6 and a quarter hours left on their water breathing spell.

As you eat the meal Val Baine has prepared, there is a knock at the door. Val leads a nervous looking courier into the tavern.
‘Garmen Ulrath invites you to visit his Illustrious tavern and card room, the Silverdisk Hall’ He hands each of you a certificate that is good for 100gp worth of gambling at the establishment.

The party stepped onto another beach area, to be confronted by man-size, frog-like creature, with something branded on it’s flank.Maddie recognized the brand on the creature’s flank as the undercommon rune for “Pet”.
It eyed them hungrily, preparing to charge. Nisha responded, running at it, but her foot caught in the water, causing her attack to miss. The others moved up, and swiftly killed the beast.
A passage led off to the southwest, leading to a cavern filled with scrap and old crates.After rummaging through the trash, they came up with seven silverdisks. As she straightened up , Nisha caught a glimpse of movement by Kellen. She rushed over , looking for the source of movement, but found nothing. Maddie was retrieved from the pile, and the followed a passage to the east, leading to a ledge overlooking a large cavern. In the cavern were four crude huts made of what appeared to be strips of metal, hides, and plant matter. When Nisha attempted to scout along the ledge, they were challenged by a voice that seemed to come from nowhere. The owner of the voice seemed to appear from nowhere, and offered them a chance to talk. Two of the group could talk to the leader of this tribe, and discuss a possible alliance.Juha took Maddie with him, but began to regret his choice after they saw the cavern where the tribes leader dwelt. Strewn with technological rubbish, Maddie was fascinated.Sef, the leader of the small tribe of Skulks offered the group the tribes treasure, in return for leaving them alone, and removing the Jinkin Gremlin problem they had. Juha agreed, and they set off to defeat the gremlins.
Moving north from the Skulk lair, they encountered a series of small caverns. In the first Nisha surprised a solitary Jinkin Gremlin, which they quickly killed. In the next small cavern Juha found a trap, by the simple expedient of tripping the wire across the entrance. A spike swung down from the ceiling, embedding itself in his chest, but missing anything vital. (Confirmed critical rolled on the dice) After Kellen healed Juha they continued on to the Gremlins nest.
Despite Juha‘s getting injured by the trap they were able to sneak up on the Jinkin Gremlin nest, and attack with surprise. Nisha snuck up behind one, a cut it’s throat, while Maddie was finally able to unleash one of her bombs. It landed at the feet of the leader, and killed two gremlins behind him while severely injuring the leader also. The leader was finished by Kellen, and the last Jinkin Gremlin dimension doored out of the nest.
They began to make their way back to the Skulk lair, exploring the remaining passages and caverns. A lone Jinkin Gremlin dimension doored into a passage in front of Nisha, and promptly attacked. The party swung into attack mode, eventually surrounding the gremlin, while ineffectually attacking it. The gremlin went into aggressive mode, cutting and biting at the group, wounding most of them before Juha was able to put it down.
Back at the Skulk’s cavern they investigated the meatal wall and door, concluding that they would be able to open the door when they returned.. Sef gave them the offered reward of 49 silverdisks, and five cards made of a smooth, flexible material, each bearing a brown stripe.
Weary, and battered and bruised, they decided to end their first foray into the caves, and return to the town. On the way out they decided to take the body of the half-orc with them.
They took her body to the Temple of Brigh, and Joram Kyte. The priest of Brigh identified the body as Parda Garr, a popular brawler in town.
Finally, they retired to the Foundry Tavern for the night, to rest up before venturing in to the caves again.